Hunter
by squigle.x
Summary: Tayla witnessed the death of her family, she saw the bullet pass through the murderers head. But who pulled the trigger? Can you ever out live the horrors?
1. Chapter 1

**Tauranga, New Zealand.**

Detective Sophia Nightingale was tired, her long black hair was streaked with grey, her eyes swollen from the lack of sleep. She tipped the last drops of coffee in her mouth before throwing he cardboard cup in the nearest rubbish bin.

The hall way was dimly lit and the blinding fluorescent light of the interrogation hurt her eyes. She squinted against the bright light.

"Ah, Inspector Nightingale." Sergeant Roberts said walking forwards and shaking the hand of the young woman. He blocked the light and Sophia was able to take in the features of the older man, his nose was long and pointed his eyes small and squinty.

"What was with this late call?" Sophia asked. In her two months of working at Tauranga Police station she had never been called in at three in the morning and she wasn't pleased.

"Murder." Sergeant Roberts said coldly.

Sophia was used to the usual gang fights, theft, and drug busts but murder was a rarity. "What happened?"

Sophia followed Sergeant Roberts to two seats sat opposite a table. The table was bare except for a jug of water, three glasses and a tape recorder.

Sophia sat down tiredly and let out a huge sigh. "Let's get it over with."

Sergeant Roberts cleared his throat and turned on the tape recorder. "Tayla Furmage ten years old returns from a hunting trip with her older brother Colin. They arrive at the house at approximately 0200 hours, their parents are held at gun point in the living room. Both parents are shot when the children are in the vicinity of the room. Colin wades in, in a moment of anger and gets shot in the head. Tayla retreats from the scene to the guns in the car; she shoots and kills the one murderer and the other in leg before running to the closest neighbours who are five kilometres away."

Sophia nodded taking in the information. "The other flee the scene?"

Sergeant Roberts nodded. "Yes, we have Tayla outside waiting to come in. We thought a motherly figure might help."

"Of course." Sophia said rubbing her eyes and straightening out her shirt. "Bring her in."

Sergeant Roberts lent over to an intercom. "Bring in Tayla."

There was a noisy click and he metal door swung open to reveal a skinny girl of average height, her skin was a tanned caramel and her eyes a deep blue almost violet. Her hair fell in long brown curls past her shoulders.

"Tayla Furmage, take a seat." Sophia nodded to the chair before her.

Tayla nodded and walked over to the seat and sat down, not making eye contact with the adults, she kept her head bowed and gaze averted.

"We need to ask some questions." Sophia said leaning forward on the table. "Do you think you could do that?"

"You have a funny accent." Tayla said, Sophia could hear the uncanny New Zealand twang on the young girl's voice.

"I'm from Wales." Sophia replied.

Tayla nodded and picked at the chipping black nail polish on her fingers, beneath her nails was dried blood and dirt. No matter how much she picked the stains remained.

"Do you want to try describing the man you saw?" Sophia asked.

Tayla looked up and stared at the older woman, Sophia was taken aback by the intimidating gaze of the young girl. "I already has."

Sergeant sighed heavily. "Why did you shoot the man?"

"Peter!" Sophia gasped her attention snapping to the man beside her.

"He killed my parents, duh." Tayla said shrugging.

Sergeant Roberts let a long sigh out of his nose. "Did you recognise the two men?"

Tayla shook her head. "Never seen them before."

Sophia knew there was no way of getting any more information out of this young girl and she didn't want to waste hours talking where she could be curled up in bed. "You do know that after this interrogation you are going to have go into Foster Care."

Tayla shrugged and yawned. "What difference does it make?"

Sergeant Roberts stopped the recorder and sat back in his chair. "Well seen as we are all really tired, why don't we finish his in the morning?"

Tayla nodded eagerly while Sophia smiled slightly. "I have never heard of anything better."

"Good." Sergeant Roberts said standing up. "Sophia do you think you could take Tayla to one of he couches in the waiting room?"

Sophia nodded and watched Sergeant Roberts leave the room, the door shut with a bang and room fell silent. He was of lower rank to her but he treated her as if she was scum.

"You don't like him." Tayla's voice was unnaturally loud in the still room.

"How do you know?" Sophia asked turning her attention back to the young girl.

Tayla's eyes were an amazing colour due to the lighting, they were framed by long black eyelashes. Sophia was envious of the young girl with this striking beauty and no clue about it, she had grown up never being perfect.

"I can read people." Tayla said simply.

Sophia nodded and stood up. "Let's get you to a couch."

Tayla stood up and followed the older woman out of the interrogation room and into the darkly lit hall way.

**CHERUB CAMPUS**  
**Somewhere in the UK**

Mac paced his office in frustration, scratching the stubble forming on his chin. How had this happened?

"Look we lost track of them, we were too late." a voice crackled over the loud speaker.

"Zara Asker." Mac sighed slumping into his office chair. "Did anyone survive?"

There was moment of static and for a moment Mac panicked at the loss of signal.

"Yes." Zara replied.

"Who?" Mac asked eagerly leaning over the phone to hear every word possible.

"Tayla Furmage."

"Tayla..." Mac mused. "All living relatives dead?"

"That is correct."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's bring her to CHERUB."

"Great! I shall go collect her from the station." Zara said and the call ended.

Mac smiled to himself, he could almost picture Zara smiling into the phone. She had grown an attachment to young girl over the course of the mission and he knew Zara would've been devastated if she had been left to grow up in a foster home.

Tayla was tired, her body ached from sleeping on the couch which made no sense because when she woke up she was in a bed. Tayla rolled onto her side and looked at the room around her, it was small and the carpet worn and in some places the floor boards showed through. A bed opposite was neatly made and a box beneath showed the only belongings of the other inhabitant.

Tayla sat up and slid off the bed, wearily she wandered over to the door and opened it. The hall way was dark and quiet but she could hear muffled voices from further down the hall.

She stepped back and closed the door and sat down on the bed not sure what to do. She didn't want to be in a Foster Home, she would be bookmarked the freak at school along with the others.

Tayla stared at the box beneath the bed intrigued. She padded over to the other side of the room and slid the box out, careful not to make too much noise. She lifted the red cardboard lid to reveal a variety of clothes and books. Taking each item out individually taking a mental note of their place inside the box, she searched. The sound of approaching footsteps and a humming sent Tayla scrambling; she quickly placed everything back in the box and shoved it back under the bed. She leapt across the room and sat on her bed trying to look 'third party aware' as her brother would say.

The door opened slowly to reveal a girl with short blonde hair, blue eyes and ton of mascara. She smiled at Tayla revealing a set of pearly white teeth all in a straight line.

"I'm Amy Collins." she said walking over and sticking her hand out.

"Tayla Furmage." Tayla said shaking Amy's hand.

"Looks like we're roomies." Amy said sitting down her bed opposite Tayla.

"You're from London." Tayla said.

If Amy was surprised by her statement she didn't show it. "Yes, I am. Parents died when we were on holiday over here." she paused and sniffled. "I haven't been able to get back."

Tayla shrugged. "Who would want to holiday here?"

Amy chuckled. "There's beaches at Mount Maunganui."

Tayla laughed at how Amy pronounced Mount Maunganui. "Its Mount Mong-a-nui not Mount Maw-woong-a-nwe."

Amy sighed. "Just cos I can't pronounce place names doesn't mean I'm stupid."

Tayla got control of her emotions and nodded. "How old are you? Thirteen?"

Amy nodded, "And you look about ten."

Tayla grinned. "Soon to be eleven!"

"So what's your story?"

Tayla stared at her hands twisting themselves into an untangable knot. "My family was murdered."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Amy said walking over and sitting down next to the young girl and rubbing her shoulder.

Tayla's eyes welled with tears, the full effect of those words had just hit home. She couldn't speak, her throat closed and her eyes stung from the hot salty tears which were sliding down her cheeks.

"It's okay." Amy said wrapping her arms around the thin shoulders of the girl.

Tayla nodded and wiled the tears from her eyes. Taking two deep breaths she swallowed the tears and her emotions, burying them deep inside her. "I'm fine now."

Amy leant back and checked. "You sure?" the change in emotions of the young girl was astonishing, once fine and then sad.

"Yeah." she smiled slightly and stood up. "You gonna give me a tour of this dump or what?"

Amy led Tayla around the four story building, the peeling paint and the cracked windows revealed the number of children who had passed through the halls of this building. Words and names were scratched into the walls and into the door frames. Tayla passed kids of all ages who didn't even bat an eyelid at her presence, they were used to people arriving and going in a blink of an eye.

Tayla shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans as they stepped out onto the flat grassy field which was the back yard. There were plastic toys and a rusty swing set scatter across the uneven surface.

"We should probably get some lunch before it's eaten." Amy said turning back towards the house.

Tayla took one final glance at the tall fence which surrounded the perimeter of the house. "Yeah, good idea." sue muttered following Amy into the dark house. It took a moment for Tayla's eyes to adjust to her darker surroundings and she tripped over the corner of a rug as they entered the dining room.

Sets of eyes all turned to Tayla who was trying to get her balance. A few people snickered and a short fat boy at the end of the long table said. "Watch it squirt. We don't allow idiots in here."

Tayla's eyes sought out the voice and she scowled at the blonde boy. "Piss off."

Amy tugged on Tayla's sleeve and dragged her to a seat at the opposite end of the boy. "You don't to get mixed up with him." she whispered.

"Why not?" Tayla asked glancing across to the boy, his cheeks were red and his forehead dribbling sweat due to the heat of the summer.

"Well let's just say he isn't a good influence." Amy said.

"You're not my mother!" Tayla exclaimed. "You can't tell me what to do!"

Amy sighed and picked up her fork. "Well I can at least tell you what's good for you."

"Whatever." Tayla muttered cutting into her steak pie.

They ate in silence and once finished Tayla got up and without a word walked outside, she sat at the back of the property with her back against the fence.

**oOoOo**

Amy watched Tayla from within the shadows of the hall way leading to the back door. She had blown it trying to make friends with her, usually she did well making friends with the targets and in general. Sighing Amy turned from the garden and headed up the stairs to their room.

Once inside with the door securely locked Amy pulled out her cell phone and typed in a number. It was picked up on the fourth ring.

"Hello?" Zara asked.

"Zara its me Amy." she said.

"Secure?"

"Yes I've checked."

"Good, how is it going?"

Amy sat down her bed and groaned. "I've completely blown it. Blown this whole mission up once again, she's never gonna like me now!"

"Now now Amy let's not get ahead of ourselves, tell me exactly what happened."

"Well I was being nice and supportive and we were getting along until someone was being mean to her and she retaliated. I said he was a bad influence and whatnot and she had a huge go at me."

"Right." Zara said. "Let's not get into panic mode just yet, I mean we still have to see if she has what it takes."

"Well did you pick up any footage from earlier?"

"Yes, some surprisingly good stuff."

"So I'm not to blame for the death of her parents?"

"Of course not! Listen Amy you weren't on this mission to keep them safe, only to collect information."

"True." Amy muttered. "But I've been put on pick up duty, back at campus that is for someone who has been of order."

There was a rustle. "Looks like Kyle is back. Why don't you get a good night's sleep and we'll talk in the morning."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye."

Amy hung up and closed her eyes for a moment before standing up. She walked over to the room's door and pulled it open. Stood in front of Amy was Tayla, glass cup in hand and an unforgiving scowl which could probably melt titanium.

"Anything you might want to tell me?" Tayla asked coldly.

Amy's stomach churned and she suddenly felt light headed.

* * *

**A/N:**

**So what do you think? New story bro :)**

**Sorry for any errors :P**

**Review **

**Churr x**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHERUB CAMPUS**

**Somewhere in the UK**

Tayla was groggy when she woke up, for a brief moment it felt like she was home, back in her own bed. But that moment was soon gone and the daunting images of her family's death flooded her mind. The sun was streaming through an open curtain and as she rolled over she got a face full of duvet. Sitting up alarmed Tayla took in her surroundings. The room was fairly large; the white walls gleamed in the early morning light. There was a small couch opposite a flat screen T.V, a mini fridge next to a desk in the corner of the room, and a chest of draws and a door on the opposite wall next to the couch.

Tayla sat up and that was when she realised why it felt weird in this bed. She had no clothes on. Tayla let out a yelp of surprise and held the duvet close to her chest, glancing back round the room her eyes settled on the small coffee table. Placed in the middle were trousers and an orange t-shirt. Leaping out of the bed Tayla scrambled across the room and pulled the top over her head and the underwear and trouser over her legs.

Once pleased with the clothes she ventured into the bathroom, presented with a mirror she took in her reflection. Her skin had pale tinge to it and heavy black bags rested beneath her eyes. Her hair was knotted and she ran her fingers through the knotted curls, trying to make them fall straight.

Leaving the bathroom Tayla slipped on the pair of boots and socks which were resting next to the couch and walked over to the window. Outside was an athletics track bright orange and out of place amongst the scattering of buildings and tennis courts. Tayla rested her hands on the window sill. If this was some form of Foster Home, she didn't like it. It was too in your face and she was sure to be bullied when she went back to school.

Tayla left the room and walked down the hall way. It was silent, dull sounds came from the closed doors which lined either side. The odd window showed the outside world, more greenery and buildings, the odd person in different coloured shirts running around. The silver doors of an elevator greeted her and she pressed the down button. The doors pinged and slid open, a young girl was stood in the lift holding a history book.

"Where am I?" Tayla asked stepping into the lift.

The girl glanced at Tayla and then above her head. "Can't speak to orange." she said in a Yorkshire accent.

Tayla glanced behind her to see a security camera in the corner of the lift. This place was getting weirder. The lift moved down and Tayla closed her eyes, trying desperately to remember what had last happened. She remembered confronting Amy about something she had overheard, she had walked into the room and felt a searing pain in the small of her back. Then nothing more. Tayla's hand moved to her back, she traced the bruised skin with her fingertips. What had given her that?

Before Tayla could ask the Yorkshire girl any questions she had hurried off. Tayla came to a standstill in front of a desk, the room looked like a reception, it even had the potted plants. A woman with short curly hair was sat behind the desk.

Tayla walked over, the lady glanced up when she heard Tayla walking over, and she motioned with her hand to be silent as she finished on the phone. It seemed like an age until the lady finished on the phone but it was soon sat in its cradle with a satisfying bleep.

Before the lady could speak Tayla butted in. "Don't you bloody say can't speak to orange."

The lady sighed and tapped away at her keyboard. "Mac would like to see you in his office. First door on your right as you go down the hall."

"Thanks." Tayla muttered heading down the hall.

A deep oak door lead the way to 'Mac' and Tayla's fist connected with the wooden panels three times until a soft Scottish voice was heard.

"Come in."

Tayla pushed the door open to find an old man with grey hair and blue eyes sat behind a desk, he gestured to a leather seat before the desk. Tayla walked over and sat down.

"You must be Tayla Furmage, how are you?" Mac asked.

"Fine." she replied. "Where am I?"

"You are at CHERUB, a school where we train children like you to become spies. No one ever suspects children are spying on them."

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Tayla asked.

Mac shook his head and sighed. "No its not, now here's the deal. You take a test to see of you pass CHERUB's standards, if you do we give you the chance to join or you can go back to New Zealand. If you don't pass, well, you back to New Zealand."

Tayla nodded. "What if I don't want to join? What if I go to the police once I've left, tell them everything?"

"What will you tell them?"

Tayla shrugged. "I was abducted by an organisation called CHERUB who trains kids to be spies."

"And what evidence do you have?" Mac asked raising an eyebrow.

"None." Tayla replied.

"Do you know where it was?"

"No."

"Don't you see?" Mac said pressing his hands together and resting his head on them.

"Well like you said before, adults always trust kids, so they will believe me."

"Would they really believe a child whose parents have recently been murdered in front of them?"

Tayla sighed. "No."

"Exactly, now would you like to do this test?" Mac asked. "Have a shot at CHERUB?"

"Yes." Tayla said.

Tayla followed Mac to a golf cart which was waiting outside. Although the sun was shining no heat was coming from it, Tayla rubbed goose bumps which had appeared on her arms.

"If you plan to stay, it's going to be quite a culture shock." Mac said. "And a temperature shock."

Tayla looked sideways. "We're in England aren't we?"

Mac nodded. "You are quite right."

"I'm sure I will be fine with the culture shock, not so sure about the weather."

"You'll get used to it." Mac stopped the golf cart. "And here we are, the obstacle course."

Tayla craned her neck as she peered into the trees. "I have to go up there?"

"Yes," Mac said getting out of the golf cart. "But not alone, we'll have Arif go up there with you."

"Arif?" Tayla asked.

A teenager around sixteen walked out from the trees, he was strong and bulky with muscle. "I hope you aren't scared of heights." he said.

Tayla shook her head. "I'm scared of falling."

Arif chuckled. "Well let's hope you don't fall."

Tayla clambered up the pieces of wood which were nailed into the tree, it was ladder of sorts and by the time she had reached the platform her arms were ready to drop off.

Arif walked across a swinging bridge. "Follow my lead." he said from the other platform.

Tayla would have found the walk across a breeze, if it had railings and wasn't hundreds of metres in the air. She didn't look down but straight ahead, keeping her gaze fixed to the bark of the tree she stepped out onto the rickety panels. Her sudden weight caused them to sway, instead of walking across calmly as she had anticipated she end up doing a mad rush.

"Good, that was good." Arif said patting Tayla's shoulder.

By the end of the course, the adrenaline coursing through her veins was sky high and she wanted to do it again. The thrill of being on the edge sent her into a craze of hormones; all she wanted to do was feel the same sweet moment where your life was in your hands. The last time she had felt it was when she held the gun, steady in her hand and aimed at the head of the man coming towards her.

"You have to jump." Arif said breaking Tayla's thoughts.

Tayla glanced down at the blue mat. It looked like a DVD resting in the grass.

"I'll go first." Arif said. "Just keep your arms in and you should be fine."

Arif jumped and in a woosh and thud he was down on the mat resembling an ant. Once he was out of the way Tayla swallowed her fear and steeped over the edge. The falling was intense, for a brief moment it felt like she was flying, the sickening feeling of her stomach being left at the top was gone, the roar of the air in her ears made her feel like she wasn't alive. But not after long she made impact with the blue mat.

"That was rather graceful." Arif said giving Tayla a hand off the mat.

"Uh, thanks?" Tayla said.

Arif grinned. "No problem!"

"If you would follow me." Mac said getting back onto the golf cart. Tayla followed and sat in the passenger seat while Arif got into the back. "I don't remember saying you could get on Arif."

"Sorry," Arif said. "But it's a real long walk back to the main building!"

Mac sighed. "Fine." and started the engine.

They pulled up in front of a Japanese style building, it was sleek and red. "That's pretty wow worthy." Tayla said following Mac up the steps.

"Take off your shoes and socks." Mac said stepping into the dojo.

Tayla pulled the laces of the combat boots and stepped inside. It was full of students in white pyjamas with black and brown belts fighting and twisting each other into painful positions. A few stopped and stared at Tayla as she followed Mac to a small room out back. . A short woman came out of a doorway followed by a short skinny boy with dark hair. The woman nodded to Mac before walking into the room they had recently vacated, yelling in a mixture of Japanese and English.

"We need to test your fighting skills." Mac said. "This is Bruce, and he will be your partner."

Tayla stared at Bruce and he stared back, he didn't look strong but his stance was confident. Tayla knew he was going to be good and over confident.

"Here are the rules," Mac said. "The first to win five submissions is the winner. An opponent can submit at any time by tapping the mat or speaking. No eye gouging or hitting the testicles. You can withdraw at any time."

"Understand?" Mac said passing the two youngsters mouth guards. They nodded. "Fight."

Tayla bit down on the blue gum shield and chewed it thoughtfully as she watched Bruce; he was stepping slowly round in a circle. Tayla mirrored his moves, out of the blue Bruce lunged for her, his foot coming towards her face. At the last moment Tayla ducked and rolled across the floor. In a few seconds she felt a searing pain in her back as Bruce brought his foot down on her back. She didn't think it was possible for someone to move that fast.

Tayla had been in a few fights in her time and she had always fought with her brother. She had never been properly trained but she knew how to defend herself and throw some decent punches and kicks.

"Submit." Bruce growled pressing down on her back.

"I submit." Tayla muttered.

"Point to Bruce." Mac said.

Tayla got to her feet and turned to Bruce, who was already coming towards her. She ducked his punch and stuck her fist out blindly; she felt it connect with something bony. Bruce cried out in pain and stumbled back. Tayla clutched her fist grimacing through the pain as she moved forwards. Bruce was still distracted from the blood pouring from his nose.

Tayla took her shot. She kicked him in the ankle and sent a punch to his solar plexus before his hands gripped her shoulders and she got flung against the mat. Her head it the ground and for a moment she was winded.

"You bitch." Bruce spat, blood dripping on Tayla's face. "Submit."

Tayla knew she was no match for Bruce but she wanted to see him suffer once more. She wriggled her hand from beneath her back and placed it on the back of Bruce's neck. Tayla didn't know if it would work but she had seen it in plenty of movies.

She pulled his face down to hers in a matter of seconds, her lips bet his. She didn't bother to be sensual or anything, instead she bit down on his bottom lip. She felt his blood trickle into her mouth and she could taste the iron from it. Bruce grunted in pain and disgust as he tried to free himself.

Tayla felt his body weight leave hers and she wrapped her free leg round his abdomen, pushing from the floor with her arm she rolled Bruce onto his back. She let go of his lip and used all her body weight to hold Bruce on the ground.

"Submit." she panted.

Tayla was shocked about what happened next, the once ruthless boy was crying and clutching his lip.

"That wasn't fair!" he sobbed. "That, that!"

Tayla got of him and he curled up on the floor, she stepped back in wonder. She spat out his blood and it landed on the floor beside him.

"That was a different tactic." Mac said walking over. "Do you give up Bruce?"

"Yes!" he cried.

"Is he okay?" Tayla asked watching the boy cry on the floor.

"He'll be fine. Now are you ready to do the written part of your test?" Mac asked.

Tayla nodded, rubbing her sore back. "I guess so."

The paper got harder as it neared the end but Tayla was able to finish all the pages before time ran out. She couldn't concentrate properly with the pain from her back and right hand. Tayla ended up doing the paper left handed, although she was right handed she had broken her arm falling from a tree and she was forced to write left handed and so was used to it. Once finished she was given some sketchy directions to the canteen, and in the end she was so helplessly lost she followed a bunch of kids hoping they would go to the canteen.

The room was full and as she entered it went silent and everyone stared. Tayla kept her head down and reached for a tray, she filled her plate with a pasta dish and walked over to a table and sat down. She could barely eat properly as her right hand was throbbing, swelling and turning a dodgy shade of purple.

Soon enough she was back in Mac's office. On the desk between them was a chicken in a small cage.

"Are you a vegetarian?" Mac asked.

Tayla shook her head. "No."

"Do you eat chicken?"

"Yeah."

"I want you to kill this chicken."

Tayla glanced at the bird. "With what?"

"Your bare hands should do it."

Tayla reached into the cage and gripped the bird, it squawked in shock but she ringed its next and she felt the satisfying crack of the bird's neck. It was dead.

Tayla stood at the edge of the pool staring at the brick shimmering in the bottom. She hadn't been swimming in a week, and she missed the water.

"You need to dive in, get the brick and swim to the other end." Mac said.

Tayla kicked off her shoes and socks, pulled off her trousers knowing the extra weight would only drag her down. She dived into the cool water and with a few strong kicks she was beside the brick. Grabbing it firmly with her left hand she breast stroked along the bottom of the pool. She was pushing off from the pools floor and reaching the surface within a matter of moments. Tayla hauled the brick onto the side of the pool and got out.

"Well done." Mac said handing her a towel.

Tayla wrapped the towel around her shoulders before drying her legs and putting her trousers back on.

Back in Mac's office Tayla was nervous. She sat on her hands to stop them from shaking.

"Do you believe you passed?" Mac asked.

"I don't think so." Tayla said.

"You passed the first test with ease, even Arif was impressed about how you didn't stop and stutter once. Your second test you passed with a low mark, Bruce is a top martial arts expert, and the way you handled it was a way I don't think seen before, however you knew he was too good for you and you still continued anyway." Mac said. "Your written test was excellent; you were one mark off full marks."

Tayla nodded. "I have a good memory."

"And the last two you passed excellently." Mac said. "You have a place in CHERUB if you would like to take it. We will give you two days to decide and let you stay in the room you were in."

Tayla nodded amazed, unable to breathe. She could leave her old life of pain and misery and live in a place with chances and new people.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Here is chapter 2. Hope you like it. **

**Thanks for the great reviews :)**

**I'm not sure hormones is the word for saying about like feeling great with the adrenaline. **

**8 of 10 exams to done :) this is a result of studying maths. haha!**

**Chur x**


	3. Chapter 3

Tayla sat in an uncomfortable chair oppostie her new handler. Meryl Spencer, a retired athlete. Her dark skin was worn and she was shuffling papers around on her desk.

"Your parents left you their life savings. Now that you're here we will place into a saving account, under your new name. You can withdraw thirty pounds a week, a hundred pounds on your birthday and christmas. Does that sound fair?" Meryl said.

"Yeah I guess so." Tayla said.

"Have you decided on a new name?"

Tayla nodded. "Tayla Hunter."

"Are you sure? It will be your name for the rest of your career at CHERUB."

"I've spent two days thinking about it." Tayla said. "I'm pretty sure about it."

"Okay, you will need to spend the next two weeks before Basic Training building your stamina, and getting you into tip top shape."

"Fun." Tayla muttered sarcastically..

Meryl raised an eyebrow at her comment but said nothing.

Basic Training started in two weeks, and Tayla needed to get her fitness up. She spent those weeks getting upat 6am and running five kilometres, then she spent an hour before and after lessons having extra martial arts lessons. Whenever she had a spare minute she would spend it swimming laps in the pool.

The night before Basic Training was due to start, Tayla sat with Bruce and a couple of his friends. A girl called Kerry who was sat opposite wore a pale blue shirt like herself and Bruce. One of Bruce's older friends was telling her the horrors of Basic Training.

Tayla grimaced. "I'm starting to regret choosing to stay."

"Nah, its all worth it in the end." Kyle said.

"Unless you get suspended all the time like Kyle here." Bruce chuckled.

"Piss off." Kyle muttered.

Tayla ended up pushing her food around her plate until everyone else was finished and she had an excuse to leave. After a long warm bath, Tayla set both her alarm clock, and stop watch for afour amalarm.

Tayla woke to a muffled bleep from her stop watch, rolling over she stared through the gloom at her empty bedside table. Her alarm clock was gone, it wasn't missing batteries, just gone. She groaned and pulled herself out of bed, putting on a tattered blue shirt with the number 9 printed on the back, and some dirty green cargo trousers with the same name printed on the leg. Tayla wore her own socks, underwear and boots. No matter what, she would never put on someone else's underwear.

By five in the morning Tayla was stood beside a rusty bed in a cold damp building, around her stood eleven other trainees. Kerry and Bruce were stood opposite, they were four and five. An overweight man entered the room, and two thinner meaner looking adults.

Mr Large placed his two massive fists together and gave the twelve trainees a toothy grin. "How are we all this lovely morning? Cold I presume? Well get used to it." he shouted coming to a stop before a little asain kid to Tayla's left. "Number ten, what is your name?"

"Maneesha, sir." she said staring at the ground.

"Maneesha, do you know who I am?" Mr Large bellowed.

"Mr Large, our head instructor." Maneesha replied.

"Yes," he said. "And who are these behind me."

"Mrs Speaks and Mr Smokes."

"WRONG!" Mr Large said. "It's Mr Speaks and Mrs Smokes. Get down and give me twenty."

Maneesha dropped to the ground and started to do press ups as the other trainees watched in stunned silence. They had all heard the horror stories of Mr Large, but never had they witnessed it.

"That isn't one, chicken." Mr Large yelled pressing his dirty boot on Maneesha's back. Tayla watched as the girl's scrawny arms shook under the weight. Eventually after five tense seconds Maneesha collapsed. "What is this?" He screamed in her ear. "Get up and do forty."

Maneesha let out a strangled sob and got to her feet. "I hate you!" she sobbed heading to the door.

"If you step outside this training compound, you can't come back." Mr Speaks said as Maneesha pushed past him.

"Get lost!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. Maneesha left the compound and came back a minute later crying harder, Mr Large yelled at her and she left. The trainees were in a buzz, someone had already quit on day one.

Tayla was teamed up with a girl called Danielle, she was born in Texas. She was your sterotypical American, strong drawl and overweight. Danielle was a lovely girl, but lacked the energy and Tayla always ended last as you were meant to stay in a team. She hurt all over and began to resent Danielle as she lost valuable showering and resting time.

By day twenty nine they were down to six trainees, Danielle had quit on day sixteen after spewing from exhaustion. Tayla was put with an Irish lad called Josh, he didn't talk much and was soon excluded from training after breaking his leg on the assault course. A set of identical twins called Jasmine and Clove left on day twenty, Clove fractured her jaw and Jasmine didn't want to be alone. Lastly on day twenty nine a stocky boy who went by the name of Simon got kicked off, Tayla never found out why as she was in the medical room treating a cut hand from assault course.

On day sixty four Kerry left, she was crying, hard. Tayla was shocked to see her leave. During martial arts Bruce had crushed her knee. The sound had been horriffic, the sound of crushing bone was heard by everyone, includimg Kerry's agonizing scream. Bruce was paired with Tayla.

Tayla didn't mind, it meant that she would finish at a half decent time and was able to have a bit longer in bed. On day seventy Mr Large got the four trainees out of bed at four in the morning by squirting them with the fire hose.

"Get up my little daisies! You have an assault course to run!" Mr Large bellowed.

The cold water jolted Tayla awake and she scrambled out of bed, a blast of water hit her in the stomach and she was sent flying backwards. Her head cracked against the bed frame and she struggled to see where her shoes were.

"Get up kiwi." Bruce said rushing over to his partner who sat dazed on the ground. "We need to get moving if we want breakfast."

Bruce helped Tayla to her feet and they ducked out of the room, Tayal was still unsteady on her feet as she stumbled across the slippery assault course.

"I hate Mr Large." Tayla groaned as they reached the lake.

"Tell me about it." Bruce said diving into the water.

Tayla followed suit and dived in, the water was freezing and automatically froze her lungs. She didn't have the strength in martial arts, or the speed for running, but she did have stammina. Growing up in the countryside of New Zealand, Tayla spent countless summer days swimming in lakes, rivers, and oceans.

They had been coming last across the assault course, but Tayla's swimming made up for what she lacked in other areas. They ended up first out of the water, as Tayla scrambled up the slippery muddy bank she saw Bruce slip out the corner of her eye. Her reflexes caught up and she reached out and grabbed him by the arm, heaving him up in the process.

"Thanks partner." he said scrambling to his feet.

"No problem." Tayla replied.

On day 90 they left the training compound, the four trainees sat in business class with the instructors. Tayla wanted to sleep on the filght but Bruce insisted she play games with him on the console. After four hours of car racing, and two movies. Tayla had put her chair back and was sound asleep. Shortly afterwards her training partner Bruce did the same.

They landed in Melbourne Australia, and the four tainees were blasted with a dry heat as they exited the airport. Mr Large soon had the trainees bundled into a minivan which took them to a flashy hotel on the edge of the city.

"I do not want to see or hear you tonight." Mr Large said lugging his suit case behind him. "Here are your room keys, order whatever on the room service, don't make me need to leave the bar."

With that the three instructors left the four trainees to fend for themselves. They all scrambled into the nearest lift and hit the second floor button, the glass elevator lifted into the sky giving them a view of the sprawling city.

"This is wicked." Bruce said pressing his face to the glass.

"You don't know what has touched that glass." Tayla grimaced.

Bruce shrugged and followed Tayla to their room, it was larger than their rooms on campus. Two single beds sat on either side of the room, hanging beside the door was a plasma T.V, they had their own bathroom with a bath with jets.

"I wouldn't mind living here." Bruce said spreading his arms wide and face planting the bed.

Tayla rolled her eyes and kicked off her shoes. "Don't mind me, I'm just going to have a bath."

Tayla was asleep beneath the covers by eight in the evening, she wanted to be fully prepared for what she was about to encounter the next day. Little did she know it was only the beginning.

* * *

**A/N:**

**There you go, chapter 3...**

**Sorry if it was incredibly boring, but I've reached a blank...it should get better. Well I have got my exam results back! Wooo! So should now be able to concentrate on my fanfiction until school starts again.**

**Also if any of yous want to check out my fictionpress the link is on my profile.**

**Where should Tayla's first mission be? What should it be about? I need your help guys!**

**Also review, it's nice. Thanks so far to all my loyal followers, I love youuu! :)**

**Can you please check out this girls fanfiction, I'm her Beta and I'm sure she will like the support over her ideas. :]**

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**Thanks :]**

**review.**


	4. Chapter 4

Tayla peeled her top off four the fourth time that day, her pack lay in the grass beside her. Bruce was doing the same, they knelt by a stream and soaked their tops in the cool water. It cleaned off the sweat and made it slightly cooler.

"How are we for time?" Tayla asked pulling her top over her head.

Bruce glanced down at the map and shrugged. "If we keep on going at this pace we should reach the last checkpoint by nightfall."

Tayla nodded and did a quick mental tally. That was four hours away, she filled her canteen and dropped a steraliser tablet intp the water, it sent it into a flurry of bubbles.

They had been in the dessert for two days and they had already run out of sun block. Bruce's nose was red and peeling and his arms were blistered. Tayla wasn't much better, she was a slight shade of pink but her skin was used to the harsh sun and her burnt nose was already going brown.

"Let's get a move on then." Tayla said slipping her pack on her back.

Bruce nodded and did the same. "Did you hear that snake last night?"

"Yep." Tayla said as they started the 15km hike up a steep hill, the check point was somewhere at the top of the ridge and they had less than six hours to reach it. "Don't worry though. I have all the different anti-venom's in my pack."

"I know." Bruce shuddered. "But what if you don't recognise the snake and you get the wrong anti-venom? Like that kid all those years ago?"

Tayla shrugged which was difficult with the back weighing down her shoulders. "Well let's hope you listened in Survival Class."

"I listened a bit, but I can't guarantee it went in." he said.

"Don't worry." Tayla said. "My family were avid hunters, I joined my dad couple times when we came over here on special hunting conventions. I think I know enough."

Bruce didn't look very confident, unlike his blazé attitude at Campus. "I keep getting freaked out when I see a stick."

"Most snakes, spiders, and scorpions come out at night." Tayla shrugged. "They usually dom't like this kind of heat."

Bruce almost choked. "_Scorpians?_"

Tayla smirked at Bruce. "There are also poisonous caterpillars I think," she said. "But then I might be getting confused with Portugal."

Bruce went a very pale colour considering the sunburn.

They reached their checkpoint by six in the evening, it was still light and atop the hill was a crumbling shack between two towering trees. Inside they found maps for the next day, Tayla's were in Russian and Bruce's in Japanese. They poured over the maps until they had figured out the route. While it was still light they sorted through the food packets and water which had been left there by the Instructors.

"I think we should set off at about five in the morning." Tayla muttered tracing the route with a pen. "We have to cover 30km, we have all day and night. But it won't be nice hiking at night with all the creepy crawlies."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll set my alarm for half four." Bruce said unrolling the sleeping bag.

When they had been dropped in the middle of the dessert, they had cleared out any stuff they didn't need. Like the thick book of Shakespeare, cutlery, frying pans, wrapping paper and lots more. There was some serious junk. They had decided that they would share a sleeping bag as it would be warmer if they were together, they had kept a few pages from Shakespeare as toilet roll.

"I'm just going to the dunny." Tayla said slipping out of the shack with a page from A Midsummer Nights Dream. She ducked behind a bush, careful to check there were no snakes in the fading light.

As she headed back to the shack there was a rustling from a bush on her left. Tayla froze and peered through the gloom, she couldn't see anything and the rustling had stopped. Tayla shook off her fear and continued to the shack.

Tayla opened the door and the light from the gas lantern flooded the dirt and bushes surronding the shack, the sudden light caused the bush to her left to stir again. In a sudden movement an olive brown snake reared out of the bush, it was over two metres tall and lashed out at her. Tayla screamed out in pain as it sunk its fangs into her arm.

"Bruce!" she cried as the pain flooded her senses.

Bruce came scrambling out of the shack. "Shit!" he gasped.

"Get the knife." Tayla groaned. He hurried back inside and a minute later he came back out with the hunting knife, in one swift motion he brought the blade down, slicing the body from the head.

Tayla slumped to the ground as Bruce threw the body away, he carefully pulled the head from her arm, black markings covered it's scaly head.

"What was it?" Bruce said helping Tayla inside the shack.

She squeezed her eyes shut. "Inland Taipan, venom sufficient enough to kill 100 adult humans."

Bruce scrambled for Tayla's pack, producing a small black case. It contained lots of little viles of anti-venom, along with a booklet of snakes and which anti-venom for which snake. Tayla lay on the wooden floor, she felt sick. Within a matter of moments she was shaking uncontrollably, sweat trickled from her pale clammy skin.

Bruce produced the anti-venom vile for Inland Taipan snake and fastened it to the needle gun.

"This shouldn't be too painful." Bruce said pressing the needle into Tayla's bicep. She let out a small groan, when there was no immediate effect he reached for the radio and turned it on, there was a crackle and he heard Mr Large's voice.

"Alright my dasies?"

"Don't." Tayla said as Bruce opened his mouth and about to call for help.

Bruce glanced up to see a paleTayla trying to sit up. "Are you sure? Did it work?" his finger hovered over the reply button.

"There is no way I am going home on day 99, okay?" she managed a small smile. Bruce glanced back at the radio.

He pressed the buttom. "Sorry, leant on the radio."

There was annoyed sigh. "You could've lost your place."

"Sorry sir." Bruce replied, turning it off.

He reached for the bandages and treated her snake bite, it was deep and after cleaning it he placed paper stitches across the wound before dressing and bandaging it.

"Good as new." Tayla whispered.

Bruce gave her a once over before packing the venom kit away along with the radio. "Shall we get some sleep then?"

Tayla nodded weakly and Bruce helped her into the sleeping bag, they snuggled into the small bag and Bruce zipped it closed, pulling the chord on the head flap as well, making them look like Egyptian mummies. They didn't want any unexpected visitors.

During the night the temperature dropped, reaching below ten degrees celsius. When Bruce's alarm went at half four in the morning, the sky was a deep orange setting the dessert alight. Tayla opened her eyes to find herself on top of Bruce, resting her head on his chest. The temperatures were already rising and she felt herself heating up considerably.

"Morning.." Bruce muttered.

"G'day mate." Tayla groaned reaching for the sleeping bag's zip.

"How are you feeling?" Bruce asked as Tayla slipped out of the sleeping bag.

"A bit peaky, and my arm hurts, but I am sure I can make it to the last check point." Tayla yawned. "I've endured worse."

They packed their packs and ate breakfast, it was cereal bars and a sip of water from their canteens. Tayla nipped outside before they left for the toilet and made sure there wasn't any snakes lurking in the bushes.

At ten to five they had started the steep decline towards the last checkpoint. They walked across the dusty dessert, stopping only for lunch and to cool down in a stream they passed. It was seven in the evening when they reached the last checkpoint on day 100. The Instructor's Jeeps were parked outside a little hut.

Mr Large, Smoke and Speaks exited the hut when they heard the two trainees. Bruce was the only thing which was keeping Tayla up, she was very pale now and she was shaking. Mr Large was carrying two grey shirts.

"Well done you two lovelies. You have passed Basic Training." Mr Large bellowed, handing the two trainees a grey shirt.

Tayla clutched the fabric in shaking hands, a smile crossing her features, the first proper smile since her parents death. It didn't last long, because as soon as she had taken off her pack and blue shirt, and had put on her grey one she collpased. Bruce caught her before her head hit the ground.

"What's wrong?" Smokes asked rushing forwards.

"Last night she got bitten by an Inland Taipan snake. I gave her anti-venom, and she said she was fine." Bruce stumbled over his words.

Mr Large grabbed Bruce's shoulder in his beefy hand. "Was that why you radioed?"

Bruce nodded. "But she didn't want to quit on day 99 and insisted she was fine to continue."

Mr Large gave Bruce a withering stare, before bundling him into the back of one of the Jeeps. They reached Alice Spring's in half an hour and then they were taken by helicopter to a Military Hospital in Darwin.

"Tell the doctors exactly what you told me." Mr Large said as they walked into the hospital.

Two days later Tayla was discharged from hospital. They had cleared her blood of venom and stitched up the wound. Bruce and Tayla sat together on the flight home, Bruce told her about how the two other trainees had failed - Mike and Lucy. Lucy had fractured her wrist and they hadn't reached the checkpoint in time.

"So we're the only ones who passed?" Tayla asked as they were sat in the minivan heading back to campus.

Bruce grinned. "We're going to be legends!"

Tayla smirked. "Don't get your hopes up."

It was late evening when they reached Campus and after tidying the Training Compound. Tayla was glad to see the back of the little concrete building. Bruce and Tayla headed over to the canteen, there was a lot of noise coming from the inisde.

"You ready to become celebrities?" Bruce asked wrapping his free arm around Tayla's shoulders and giving her a squeeze.

"Nope." Tayla grimaced as Bruce lead her into the canteen. There were a few cheers from Bruce's friends and other students. Tayla blushed and stared at the floor, suddenly becoming very aware of Bruce's arm dangling around her neck.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Here is the next chapter, it may be a while until my next update because school is starting.**

**Don't forget to review, and check out the poll on my profile.**

**Thank you to all you loyal followers :)**

**Also check out kfaatcee.**

**Again, review.**

**Over and out.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Three months later.**

Tayla wrote the last few words of her essay before throwing her pen on the floor. She had been back at Campus for over two weeks after a mission in Spain over ran by two months. The only good outcome from the mission was that she was now fluent in Spanish and had earned her Navy shirt. The bad outcome meant three months of work to catch up on.

She reached over for the phone beside her bed and typed in the number she didn't need reminding.

Bruce picked up on the fourth ring. "Yo?"

"Are you free?" Tayla asked picking at her bed sheet.

"No sorry," he said. "Got this massive essay due tomorrow. Can't copy Kerry 'cause she's still in Basic Training."

"Oh, okay maybe next time."

"I may be able to come round if I can copy yours?" Bruce sounded hopeful.

Tayla smiled. "Not so easy Brucey boy." she chucked. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

Tayla placed the phone back in its cradle and settled back against the covers. She flicked on the TV but wasn't really paying attention to the news. Soon her heavy eyelids drifted shut and she was left to the mercy of her nightmares.

After her parents death she suffered from gut clenching nightmares, reliving her family's death. During Basic Training the nightmares stopped but now she was no longer exhausted and they were coming back to haunt her.

Tayla woke up with a dry throat from screaming, the nightmare slowly began to drift once her eyes were wide open. By the time she was leaning over the edge of the bed clutching her head the nightmare was gone. She couldn't even remember it.

Shaking and breathless Tayla got out of bed and ran a shower, she stood under the boiling water staring at her bloody hands. There were crescent shaped cuts on her palms where her nails had pierced the skin. Her knuckles ached from clenching her fists in her sleep.

The sound of her phone sent her leaping out of the shower and dripping across the carpet. She only had seconds to grab a towel, unfortunately it was a hand towel.

"Hello?" Tayla said trying helplessly to wrap the small towel around her body.

"It's Meryll, sorry for calling at such an early hour but you're wanted in Mission Control ASAP."

"What?" She asked clenching her jaw against her chattering teeth.

"Mission Control in five minutes." Meryll repeated hanging up.

Tayla stared at the phone in her hands, she couldn't believe it. She had just got back form a three month long mission and they were already slotting her into another one. Bruce had told her it was rare to have back to back missions and you usually had three to four weeks between them.

Within five minutes Tayla was running up the stairs and down the corridor to room 810. Her wet hair was spraying her top with water and stray clumps of hair stuck to her forehead.

"I'm here!" She gasped almost falling into the room.

Zara, a friendly mission controller was sat at the end of a table with a tall thin man Tayla didn't recognise, he had a long nose and black stubble. There was even an artistic grey streak in his black hair running from his temple. His suit was plain and he wore a long coat, the collar turned upwards. He looked like a vampire. Tayla quickly dismissed this thought and sat down in the closest chair.

"It's nice of you to join us," Zara smiled over at the young agent. "You didn't need to rush."

"It's okay, I was already up when you called." She replied trying to scrape the stray hairs back in place.

The tall thin raised an eyebrow before leaning across the table and holding out his hand. "I'm Agent Billington, I work for the CIA."

Tayla shook his hand. "Tayla Hunter,"

Zara nodded and opened a thick file, Tayla's gaze caught her name printed on the front. "Tayla has recently completed a mission in Spain and is fluent in Spanish, she is our best agent suited for this case."

Mr Billington's eyes trailed over Tayla's dripping hair which was now forming a puddle on the table. "I see."

"Her age also fits your requirements and-"

"I'll stop you right there," Mr Billington interjected holding up his hand. "I don't need to hear whatever spiel you have prepared, I'm sure Tayla here is fully qualified or you wouldn't have recommended her. I need her to read the briefing as soon as possible as I need to be up in the air in an hour."

Zara looked taken a back but quickly recovered as she reached into a briefcase and pulled out another thick file and passed it over to Tayla.

_MISSION BRIEFING_  
_NOT TO BE REMOVED FROM ROOM 810._  
_DO NOT TAKE COPIES OR MAKE NOTES_  
_MISSION FOR TAYLA HUNTER (11.5 years)_

_Tennant Construction LTD:_

_Tennant Construction was founded in San Diego 1996 by Lewis Tennant (now age 56). The company soon grew and so did Lewis's fortunes. The company specialises in delivering vehicles needed for construction all across the California, Arizona and Texas. Recently Tennant Construction has widened it's market to include Mexico, in this time Tennant Construction's profits have reached the millions._

_Himself and his wife Hanna Tennant (now age 55) became one of the most well known families in the Californian area. In 1999 Hanna Tennant gave birth to daughter Cleo Tennant (now age 12)._

_The family have kept out of the press over the past decade, however in recent years it is now believed that Tennant Construction is now a cover for smuggling weapons into Mexico and smuggling drugs, people, and other materials into the United States of America. The police and CIA have tried to infiltrate Tennant Construction and thus far have been unable to uncover any information. Lewis is a paranoid man and keeps family close, and only has a select few friends._

_Over the past three years numerous numbers if CIA, MI5 and FBI agents have tried to infiltrate Tennant Construction but each time the agent's have gone missing. No bodies have been found in America and it is believed they are taken into Mexico._

_This is where CHERUB comes in._

_Tayla Hunter will join Agent Christopher Billington to San Diego CA where Tayla will befriend Cleo and find all she can about Tennant Construction. Meanwhile Billington will act as her father and will get a job inside the company and try to uncover any suspicious activity. It is predicted that this mission will run over two months and if nothing is uncovered the Agent's will be extracted after this time period._

_This mission is classified: HIGH RISK, due to exposure to weapons and human trafficking. If either of the Agent's are suspected we will extract them as soon as possible._

_Agent's may leave at any time._

_"What do you think?" Zara asked once Tayla had finished reading. "I know you've spent a long time away from Campus and I will understand if you refuse."_

Tayla glanced over at Mr Billington and then pack down at the file she now held in sweaty palms. "I'll do it."

Mr Billington stood up and straightened his tie. "I want you packed and waiting on the airstrip in ten minutes." He said walking out of the room.

Tayla watched him leave before turning to face Zara, "Is he always like that?"

Zara nodded. "He is one of the best Agent's in the CIA, you're very privileged."

Back in her room Tayla threw clothes into her case and grabbed the necessary toiletres and threw them in as well. She was soon hopping around in one shoe trying to get as changed as quickly as possible.

Once her wet hair was scraped into a ponytail and her case was packed she headed towards the lift and sent a text to Bruce.

Been sent on a missh to Cali, USA. C u soon.

Tayla soon found herself stood before a gleaming private jet, Mr Billington waiting on the stairs his face set in a scowl. She glanced at her watch, it had been exactly ten minutes.

"We don't have all day." Mr Billington called turning around and stepping into the plane. Tayla struggled up the stairs with her case before leaving it with the air hostess. She hadn't seen anything so glamorous in her life, the floor was a thick caramel carpet, four leather reclining chairs sat across from each other. Tayla was in heaven. She flopped into the chair farthest from Mr Billington who was now scowling at a laptop screen.

"Please be seated, we will be leaving shortly. Enjoy the flight." The pilot said.

Tayla settled in her seat and fastened her seatbelt. Soon CHERUB campus was shrinking and she was high in the sky heading towards San Diego.

* * *

**A/N:**

**It is appreciated if you review. I hope you enjoyed this chapter**.


	6. Chapter 6

**Three weeks later**

Tayla had managed to befriend Cleo on the first day, she wasn't popular and spent her lunch breaks sat in the school library reading. After spending a week with Cleo she realised that she didn't have any friends. At first Tayla couldn't understand why, but now she knew. Cleo would spend countless hours on the phone to Tayla bitching about every girl in the school.

"I don't know how she got away with that skirt though," Cleo exclaimed painting a second coat of polish onto each nail. "I mean I could practically see her butt."

"Yeah." Tayla agreed painting her nails black.

In the first week Tayla had planted an assortment of listening devices around the house and placed tracers on the computers and mobile phones. All she had to do then was find out if Cleo knew about her fathers job.

In the weeks that followed Tayla had soon realised that Cleo was kelt in the dark about her father and it was now up to Mr Billington to try and get a good placement in the business. Her work, for now, was done.

Cleo talked at Tayla for the next hour until she decided to go home. She bid Cleo farewell and took the stairs two at a time, grateful to get away.

The sun was high in the sky and there wasn't a single cloud in sight. Tayla made use of the good weather by running home from Cleo's place. Her feet hit the dry cracked pavement as she ran along the streets of the suburb. She dodged young mothers with prams and other teenagers walking their dogs.

After an hour Tayla's singlet was soaked with sweat as she stumbled up the front steps and into the house she had come to know as home. Mr Billington wasn't home yet and she made use of the empty house. She stripped off her dirty clothes and threw them into the washing machine before running upstairs to take a shower.

Once out of the shower Tayla made herself peanut butter on toast before lying down on her bed. After a few minutes she was asleep, the nightmares crawling out from the deep corners of her mind.

A loud crash jolted Tayla awake and she rolled over to look at the clock, it was 10pm. She scooted off her bed and quietly crossed her room to her door, she managed to reach it just as it swung open and Mr Billingtom came charging in.

He spun wildly to face her. "We have to get out of ere!" He shouted grabbing her wrist and ragging her out of her room. Over the past weeks she had grown used to his abrupt behaviour and moody silences, but nothing prepared her for this.

"What? Why" Tayla asked tripping after the tall CIA agent.

"Our cover has been compromised." He said leading her to the car which was parked on the driveway, engine still running.

Tayla fell into the passenger seat and had just got her door closed when Mr Billington veered onto the street. "How?" She asked staring at the street lights which were zipping past.

Mr Billington clenched the steering wheel and sighed. "I don't know, but I only just managed to escape." He said, Tayla watched his face in the fading light. A vein in his jaw was pulsating and his gaze could melt diamond. "I'm taking you to a safe facility which is on the outskirts of San Fansisco."

"Have you alerted CHERUB?" Tayla asked grabbing hold of the glove box as Mr Billington turned sharply.

"No, I've had no time. We need to get out of here." Mr Billington started. "We're being-"

He never got finish is sentence, a blinding light filled the car as a force hit them. Tayla jolted painfully against her seatbelt as the world began spinning around her and for a moment she felt weightless until she jolted back against her seat, he bones jarring painfully. The car rolled and she could smell burning tires and hear the grating of metal on tarmac.

The world eventually stopped spinning and the car came to a stop on the side of the road, her whole body screamed in pain as she turned to look at Mr Billington. She barely recognised him, his face was bloody and in the streetlight she could see part of his cheek was missing. He wasn't moving and Tayla was fairly certain he was dead. He stomach churned as she watched the blood pore from the wounds.

There was a loud buzzing in her ears and her head pounded. A hooded figure appeared next to the window of Mr Billington and reached through the broken glass and dragged him out. Tayla tried to open her mouth to protest but she felt strong hands grab her shoulders and pull her from the crumpled vehicle.

Something sharp dug into the flesh in her arm and her limbs turned to lead, she was vaguely aware of being bundled into the back of a van before everything went black. She woke up again, a while later. She was strapped to a table and a bright light shone over her head.

"He's still not talking." A voice said in Spanish.

Tayla craned her neck to see two figures stood in the corner of the room, a short fat man was leaning against the wall staring at his feet. The taller man held a rifle to his chest, she recognised him. He was Lewis Tennant.

"We kill her in front of him." Lewis Tennant spat, his words already translating in the back of Tayla's mind.

"Will that get him to talk?" The fat man asked eagerly. "They've sent so many agents these past few years. We need to get to the bottom of this."

"And we will," Lewis said calmly. "But first we figure out why an agent would bring his own daughter with him."

"I see what you're getting at there." The fat man said stroking his chin thoughtfully. "It is a bit fishy."

Lewis glanced over at Tayla, he smiled and walked over. "Not long now." He chuckled unsheathing a dagger and digging it into her shoulder. She screamed in pain, jolting against the restraints as pain flooded her body. She blacked out.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Omygod, I've actually updated quickly. I guess there is a first time for everything. **

**Review, please.**

**WARNING: The next chapter involves a bit of gory/torture/yuckiness. Read the next chapter at your own risk. See? I did warn you.**

**wee!**


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